Jacqueline Fernandez & Varun Dhawan are now using pole dancing as a workout

While Pilates and HIIT exercises are now household names when it comes to workouts, there's always a new routine that comes around and soon garners its own set of loyalists. In April this year, Jacqueline Fernandez posted a couple of images and videos on her Instagram from her pole workout sessions with trainer Roksolana Chubenko aka @lanaroxy that had her followers intrigued, to say the least. While this form of dance may not be targeted towards weight loss, you'll definitely find yourself getting toned overall, and it's great for improving balance and coordination. Chubenko, who has taught pole dancing in Ukraine, Italy and Dubai before making her way to India to work with Fernandez for her film roles, gives us five reasons why a pole workout should be the next fitness routine you dive into.

1: It's fun and a change from your regular cardio Fernandez was her first celebrity client in India and the demand for pole workouts has only grown ever since the actor's intriguing Instagram posts. “I came down to train Jacqueline for her movie, A Gentleman and ever since her post, the interest in the form has only grown. A lot of people now want to learn pole dancing.” She's also possibly looking at opening her own studio in the country.

2: It looks effortless, but it's a lot of work It's amazing how easy pole dancing looks, in correlation to how much effort it actually takes. In fact, even a fitness junkie like Varun Dhawan found it to be a lot tougher than he'd imagined. “Jacqui introduced Varun to it and he really liked his first class, it was a lot of fun with all the energy around. Even though he found it hard, it's helping him with body mobility and flexibility; that's what pole workouts work well for.”

3: It engages your mind and body Pole workouts have a lot to do with your mind as well—they bring together coordination, balance, choreography and weight-lifting at once. They're supposed to make you feel good about yourself, mentally and physically. “[Unlike a traditional gym] when you workout on the pole, you have your room, the pole and a workout in your head that you're going to perform. The stronger and better you get, the more confident you become and that's a feeling that lasts outside the class. Some people even take up pole workouts for this reason. They're facing issues in their life or are low on self-confidence and they come here to feel better about themselves.”

4: It's a full body workout Unlike other workouts where you mostly work certain areas with targeted moves, pole workouts require you to use your entire body each time. “You work with your own body weight. You need to be coordinated. Pole workouts help you work on your coordination skills and use various exercises to increase stability.”

5: It's suitable for all fitness levels While it's a challenge to take on, you don't need to be a gym regular before you try pole workouts, even though that would help. “A lot of girls come in saying that they're not fit or that they haven't worked out for a while which makes them hesitant to give the pole a shot. You can come in at any fitness level and slowly you will achieve something. Of course, the people who already practice other dance forms or workout regularly will get a hang of the pole faster. You will need to work for it, but it's not impossible.”